China Dust Spreads to Japan – March 19th, 2013

Beijing’s air quality deteriorated again as a sandstorm and thick smog added to the problem. The smog and dust also reached across the Bohai Gulf to the Korean Peninsula and then to Japan. Tokyo was blanketed with dust that darkened the skies, rapidly decreasing visibility as dry dust particles whirled through the air.

Meteorologists said the phenomenon was caused by a sudden cold front, and was not linked with the suffocating pollution that hung over the Chinese capital Beijing last winter. Japan and other regional countries, however, have voiced concern about the impact of airborne pollution drifting from their influential neighbor.

The toxic haze that periodically blankets parts of China has been blamed on emissions from coal burning in power stations but also on fumes from vehicles on the traffic-clogged streets of the world’s largest largest auto market.